


This Thing

by PBJay



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-03-24
Packaged: 2018-05-28 21:27:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6346009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PBJay/pseuds/PBJay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asami does things that Korra likes to point out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hair Flipping

Asami does this thing, Korra noticed, this thing where she flips her hair this way and that, and this thing where she straightens it up whenever someone comes around. She takes her slender fingers and combs them through her bangs, the strands falling where she wants them.

Korra noticed this when Asami approached Mako in any way. She noticed this the moment she met Asami, and she did not care for the prettied up doll that was hanging off of the arm of the handsome pro bender. She only ever seemed to flip and fix her already gorgeous locks in front of said bender.

But what Korra did not notice was that whenever the avatar would come around Asami and throw her dirty looks, Asami was fixing her hair, quickly and subtly making sure every strand was in its place.

"Why do you do that with your hair?" the young avatar asked one day while they waited for Mako at the pro bending arena. The other young lady looked at the avatar in confusion.

"What do I do with my hair?" Asami asked, her eyes wide and a faint hint of redness beginning to appear on her pale cheeks. Korra scoffed at the pretty girl. She began to flip her hair sarcastically, like she had seen Asami do hundreds of times.

"Oh, look at me, I'm so pretty! Let me fix up my already perfect hair!" Korra mocked. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked back at the other girl who hadn't said a word. Half of Korra was just playing with the other girl, but the other half was just a jealous mess. Asami's eyes were downcast.

"You only ever do it around Mako," Korra laughed. "You don't need to keep prepping yourself up for him. I think you've already got him."

Asami shook her head with a solemn smile. "No, I don't," she said, meaning for the words to be quiet and overlooked by the other woman. "I guess it's just a habit. I don't really notice it anymore. I do it around you too."

She sighed and shook her head with that same solemn smile on her face. "You look so pretty all of the time," Asami complimented the other girl. Korra's heart skipped a beat, and now the girl was beginning to feel like a complete jerk.

Asami laughed and what sounded like a subtle sob to Korra came out of her mouth as well. "If I'm not careful and keep myself looking sharp, there won't be any point!"

The non-bender's voice was attempting to be understood as a light joke, but the way it kept wavering told Korra that she had hurt Asami. Korra's eyes widened and her mouth flattened as she discovered she blew it. She rubbed her hand behind her head and sighed. When she opened her mouth to say something again, the other girl had begun to exit the room.

Korra stretched her arm out to the girl to stop her from leaving. "Asami, wait."

Asami stopped and turned around to look over her shoulder. She smiled so that her eyes closed with the movement of her cheeks. "It's okay, Korra, I understand," she began to say.

Korra furrowed her eyebrows in guilt. "No, it's not okay. I'm sorry. I'm a bit jealous of you is all," she said quickly and somewhat incomprehensively, turning quickly away from Asami with her arms folded and a blush on her face. Asami's usual genuine smile returns to her face as she approaches the avatar.

"There's no need for you to be jealous, Korra," Asami said. The pale woman stopped directly behind Korra. Mako and Bolin could be heard coming down the hall to the room to put on their gear to get ready for the match. Asami leaned her face over to place a small peck on the avatar's cheek. Korra's eyes grew even wider and her face resembled the colour of Pabu's fur. Asami bounced away from the other girl as soon as Mako and Bolin entered the room, chatting about how exciting the match was going to be. Asami walked toward Mako, stood on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek as well before turning to leave.

"Good luck, guys!" she shouted and waved goodbye. The boys grumbled "bye" and "see ya" under their breaths while Korra stood there, her hand on her cheek and her face still heated. She shook her head to clear it, placing the helmet over her face to hide the blush and to prepare for the match.

The Fire Ferrets entered the ring, waving at the cheering crowd. Korra waved in return like always, but she was searching the audience for a certain special someone this time. Her eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on none other than Asami. Korra smiled, despite the other girl not being able to see her, and fixed her hair through the helmet, straightening her uniform before sending a blast of water at her opponent.


	2. Fake Smiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asami does another thing.

Asami does this thing, Korra noticed, this thing where she puts on a delighted face despite the events that just unfolded. She smiles brightly in the face of sadness, in the event of a tragedy, and, even though her eyes are full of nothing, she laughs and worries about others.

Korra noticed this when Asami's father was just discovered to be a traitor, a traitor who believed he was doing what was best for his daughter, but ultimately drove her to hatred and resent toward the man.

It was the night Tenzin welcomed the young lady to take refuge on his island. The Avatar had exchanged awkward conversations with the girl before retiring to her own sleeping chambers. Sleep came to the young Avatar very quickly, but did not stay with her for more than five hours or so. Korra sat up in bed and stretched. Her hair was messy from her sleeping position, and her shirt was a bit sideways from it as well. I'm hungry, she pointed out to her tired self, rubbing her eyes. She turned so that her bare feet touched the wood floors before standing and making her way out of her room.

Korra walked throughout the hallways and toward her desired location: the kitchen. She found the small room in no time and sluggishly trudged to the cabinets. She sparked a small flame from her fingertips so she could see what was available to snack on. She decided on a box of cereal before shutting the cabinet door and turning back around. Her bed was sounding very nice until she noticed a figure sitting at the small table in the kitchen. Well, sitting was perhaps not the quite term; the figure was slumped over with whomever's head lying down on the wood.

The Avatar squinted through the dark before lighting her flame again. Dark brown locks with flecks of orange from Korra's fire made their way into her adjusting vision. Her eyebrows furrowed in worry. She knew this mass of beautiful hair was none other than Asami, but she was stumped as to why the girl was at the table. She approached the girl cautiously and shook her shoulder.

"Asami. Asami, wake up. You fell asleep at the table," Korra tried. The sleeping girl simply let out an almost inaudible groan before burying her face further into her folded arms. Korra rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Come on, Asami. I know that's not comfortable for you," she tried again.

Asami slowly began to wake. She sucked in a breath and sluggishly lifted her head from her arms. When the light from Korra's flame hit the other girl's face, she sucked in a breath.

Asami's face was completely blank with the exception of a very noticeable tear track coming from both of her pretty green eyes. Korra knelt down to be at Asami's level.

"What's wrong? What happened?" the Avatar asked, worry clearly in her tone.

Asami's eyes were squinted at the sudden light in her eyes. She closed them once more and then opened them again, a smile now plastered on her pale face.

"Nothing!" she said, her voice thick with false excitement, "Just fell asleep doing some work!"

Asami quickly shuffled the papers on the table together and stood up to walk out of the room. Korra blinked a little, still a bit confused and groggy from her sleep. She stared for a few minutes where Asami was sitting and noticed a paper the girl had left behind. There was some kind of wet stain on the paper, and the paper itself just contained a few lines of scribbled out sentences.

Korra's expression turned from one of confusion to one of sadness. She placed the paper back down on the table and walked out of the kitchen with her cereal box. On the paper sitting on the table, the only word that could be seen through the pen scribbles was "father."

The Avatar made her way to Asami's room. She knocked on the door lightly. No answer.

"Asami, open up. It's Korra. Can I talk to you?" she asked. No answer. Korra began to get a little annoyed.

"I know you're in there," she said, grasping the handle of the door and pulling it open. "Just-"

Korra stopped when there was nobody in the room. The bed was made nicely, and there were no signs of anybody ever sleeping in it.

She exited the room and looked left and right down the hallways. No sign of Asami. The Avatar sighed. I need some fresh air, she thought. She found the house's exit and hopped down the stone steps to the courtyard. She turned her head left and right to find a nice spot to sit, but had to double take when she saw the young lady for whom she was looking to her left. Her face fell as she saw the poor girl sitting with her shoulders slumped down and her head hanging low.

Korra approached Asami slowly before plopping down next to the girl and abruptly pulling Asami close to her chest with her left arm. Asami jumped and struggled to sit up. Once her back was straight, she put on that awful fake smile again for Korra.

"Korra," Asami started with false enthusiasm, "I didn't know you were still-"

Asami's phony small talk was cut off by a slap to her face. Her eyes were wide, and her cheek stung a little. She placed her right hand to her right cheek to relieve herself of the pain. Her eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the smirking Avatar's face.

"W-what was that for?" she stuttered out, her voice wavering. Korra's smug countenance shifted to one of guilt at the other girl's tears.

"I think I got a little carried away," Korra says, pulling Asami's hand from her cheek and placing a small kiss on the reddening skin. Of course, Asami's skin just became even more red as if Korra had slapped her a few more times.

"I just wanted to slap that fake happiness off of your face," Korra explained. "I would rather see how you're really feeling than this mess."

Asami's eyes began welling up with more tears that weren't from the sting of the slap. She closed her beautiful green eyes and turned away with a sob, tears now sliding down her face. Korra said nothing, but instead wrapped her arm around Asami and pulled her into her side the same way she had done when she sat down next to her.

"M-my father," Asami managed to choke out before burying her face in Korra's chest. Korra flinched as the girl nudged her breast a little roughly but continued to comfort the girl, stroking her arm as she cried.

"I-I don't have anything anymore!" Asami sobbed. "Sure, sure I have money and every other material possession that everyone would ever want, but that doesn't make me h-happy!"

Korra let go of the girl and stood up, grabbing Asami's arms and pulling her to her feet as well. The Avatar wrapped her arms around Asami's waist when they were both standing to place the girl in a more comforting embrace. Asami wrapped her arms around Korra's neck, burying her face into her.

They stood there for a few minutes, Korra letting Asami empty herself of her repressed tears. Once it seemed the other girl had started calming down, Korra pulled away, brushing the tear-stained pale skin with her fingers with a smile.

"You have us. You have Bolin and Mako and Tenzin and Lin! You have me, and I'm pretty great," Korra said, raising her eyebrow for effect. Asami laughed a little with a slight hiccup. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"We all care about you. We love you. We're your family. I know your dad was your dad, and nothing can replace him, but he hurt you, Asami. And right now, he doesn't deserve your tears, and you don't deserve to be so upset about a jerk who hurt you," Korra explained, her hands now grasping Asami's and squeezing tighter with each sentence.

Asami sniffed and smiled before leaning her head on Korra's, closing her eyes for a few minutes of peace. When they both pulled away, they smiled at each other, and this time, Korra could see that Asami's smile was genuine.

Korra plopped back down to the ground, Asami joining her soon after. They both hung their legs over the side of the wall on which they were sitting. Korra reached behind her and pulled out the box of cereal she brought from the kitchen. She opened it up and pulled out a handful of the snack before shoving it in her mouth. She stretched her arm with the box over to her companion to offer her some. Asami reached her hand in the box as well and pulled out a handful of her own to place in her mouth.

Asami smiled.


	3. Fix It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra does a thing to make Asami do the thing.

Asami does this thing, Korra noticed, this thing where she gets so distracted by the task at hand that she can do basically anything. She focuses, her tongue out of her mouth, and sometimes biting her lip, and she finishes what needs to be finished.

Korra noticed this when the heiress's car was destroyed by none other than the avatar herself. The car's engine was completely killed, the front end was in shambles, and spirits know whatever else Korra had done to destroy the vehicle.

Two days after the incident, Asami is back to driving the same car, however. How the hell did she get that back up and running so quickly? Korra thought, scratching her head in wonder. It couldn't be a new car and just look the same, could it? No, that definitely isn't it. She knows all too well of Asami's intelligence, but she must be some kind of superhuman.

Korra decided to test this theory. The group of four on Team Avatar were at the stadium bright and early, arriving before most to get some training in before the next match later that night. Even though she's not a member, Asami likes to accompany the benders to watch them and to use the gym for her own physical workout. Thankfully for Korra, it was a day that Asami had stripped into nothing but loose cargo pants and a muscle shirt to work herself for her own benefit. The engineer punched and kicked the punching bag while Mako and Bolin dodged each other's attacks.

Whistling and trying not to look suspicious, Korra took off her helmet and walked out the door, running down the hallway and out of the building to find the blue Satomobile parked alongside the road. The avatar looked around – first left, and then right – and then picked up a medium-sized slab of asphalt from the ground. She promptly hurled the slab directly at the windshield with the intention of creating a small crack in the glass. The muscular woman's own strength, however, got the better of her, and the windshield shattered, sending shards of glass all over the place.

A cry erupted from Korra's mouth and she shook her hand in pain, sucking on the top part of her index finger where a shard of glass slashed open her skin. She stepped back nervously and looked at the damage she had caused.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," she cursed, pacing back and forth quickly. "Why am I so stupid!?"

Cars began to drive down the street in front of the stadium as other pro-bending teams arrived to the stadium for the match. Korra's blue eyes widened as she fled the scene, running back inside and down the hall to their training room as fast as she can.

A wooden board in the floor sticks up from its place and, in her rush to get back, the avatar tripped over the plank and fell down onto the floor with the rest of the boards. She winced at the new scrape on her chin from where her jaw hit the ground, but she climbed to her feet quickly, her heart still pounding from the nervousness she felt from destroying one of her best friends' car.

She threw open the double doors of the gym, her typical, crooked smile plastered on her face and her chin dirtied and bloodied from her fall. Korra placed her hands on her hips, her cream-coloured uniform staining red from the blood on her hand.

"I'm uh…back guys!" she announced, a nervousness in her tone.

Mako gave a grunt in response as he dodged the earth disc Bolin sent his way. Bolin kept his eyes on his brother and sent another disc in his direction.

"Welcome back, Korra!" the earthbender replied in his usual cheery tone.

From on the other side of the room, Asami remained focused on her punching bag, her arms bent and her fists coiled as she practices. A few more punches and finishing with a swift roundhouse kick signaled the end of the engineer's workout. Letting out a tired sigh and tying up her lovely raven locks into a ponytail, Asami turned around, wiping the sweat from her forehead and the back of her neck.

"Hey, Korra," she saya, her voice seeming to cut through the air to be heard above all other noises to Korra.

The avatar remained rigid with eyes wide and an obvious fake smile smeared on her face. "Uh…hey there, Asami!" she saidin response, rubbing the back of her head with her bloodied hand.

Asami gasped, closing the short distance between them as she grabs Korra's hand gently.

"Korra, what in the world happened to your hand?" she asked, looking up to Korra's face with those beautiful green eyes. She noticed the scrape on the other woman's chin as well, reaching out to gently touch that as well. "And your chin? Spirits, Korra, what happened?"

"Uh…well, you see…there was this, uh…thing," Korra stammered, trying to come up with some kind of lie to protect herself.

"Wait here, I have a first aid kit in my car," Asami ordered, pushing Korra by her shoulders onto the bench against the wall. "Let me fix this."

Korra's eyes grew even wider as Asami left the room. She sucked in a breath and held it. Mako and Bolin continued to go head to head with their bending and dodging.

Not two minutes later, Asami's light footsteps were heard coming back down the hall. If even possible, Korra sucked in even more air in anticipation of her friend's return.

"Here we go," Asami said, kneeling down in front of the avatar when she entered the gym again, first aid kit in hand. She opened the white box with a red cross adorning the top, taking out some towelettes to wipe dirt and blood away from the wounded woman's hand and chin.

Still holding her breath, Korra waited for the news about Asami's car, her face one of pure agony during the wait. She didn't even notice Asami finish up bandaging her hand and putting a band-aid on her chin until the beautiful woman stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"There we go; you're all patched up," Asami said, a smile forming on her face. She held out her hand to help Korra to her feet, the avatar looking at her now expertly-bandaged hand.

 _Huh, she really can fix anything_ , she thought, flexing her fingers wrapped in the bandages.

"You guys ready to go home?" Asami asked, grabbing her gym bag and hoisting it over her shoulder. She waited for everybody to nod and gather their things.

"Yeah, I'm beat. I think I need a nice, big lunch, and then I need a nice, long nap," Bolin said, walking out of the gym right behind everybody else.

Korra remained in the gym, too nervous about the car to move. She still held a breath, waiting anxiously for the inevitable response to the heiress's smashed car.

"Coming, Korra?" called Asami's sweet voice from down the hall.

"Uh, y-yeah!" she stammered, running out after the three.

They made it to the outside of the building and walked down the sidewalk to Asami's car. With her head hung low, Korra kept her eyes down as she walked to the car with the broken windshield, prepared to pull open the handle to get inside the vehicle.

"Korra, what are you doing?" Mako asked, breaking Korra out of her nervous trance.

"What?"

"Oh, man! That car really got it good!" Bolin exclaimed, pointing to the broken glass all over the sidewalk.

Asami cringed humorously, taking out her keys and opening the doors to the car right in front of the one with the smashed windshield. "Let's get out of here before that happens to my car," she said, hopping in the front seat and starting it up.

Korra finally let out her breath, looking at the car in disbelief. She stiffly hopped over the door of the passenger side of Asami's actual car, buckling her seat belt.

"Everything okay?" Asami asked, looking over to her passenger.

"Yeah, uh…I'm good. Somebody should fix that," Korra replied, trying to calm herself down after a close call and after realizing that she had broken a complete stranger's windshield.

"I could fix it," Asami said with a wink, adjusting her rear-view mirror before stepping on the gas and driving down the road to get back to Air Temple Island.


End file.
